We chose this cruise because of the great port calls; Italy, athens, olympia, Kotor, and Split. The destinations did not disappoint. They were fantastic and we avoided much of the crowds by cruising in the winter. Unfortunately, we did not have a chance to explore Venice before our cruise departed as Easyjet canceled the flight. Needless to say, we had to scramble to find alternative transportation to Venice and it cost us an extra day of travel. The embarkation and disembarkation was extremely smooth at Venice. We had no issues getting on the ship four hours before the departure. Customs was smooth and friendly and this was the easiest embarkation we have experienced. The Luminosa allows you to embark or disembark at any of the port calls but I'm unsure how smooth the process was at the other locations. Like other reviewers, we found the Luminosa to be average. Compared to other cruises, the food was disappointing. Mainly pasta dishes and you pay extra for the dishes that are included on other cruises such as steak and lobster. Costa cruise lines charges extra for things like coffee, bottled water, ice cream, and even pizza. We found the layout of the cruise ship to be very similar to other cruise lines of this size. Spa on the 9th floor near the front of the ship, cafeteria style dining on the ninth floor, restaurant on the 2nd floor, casino, bars, etc. Our classic cabin with a balcony was nice; easily accommodating two adults and two children. The cabin was well insulated but we did hear some children running in the cabin above us. Thankfully, no issue with neighbors that smoke. The kids club seemed fine. My nine year old only went a few times but there didn't seem to be any language barriers. The teen club, however, was given over for infant space. As a result, the teens didn't really have a place to hang out and they would meet on various parts of the ship. It was a poor compromise and our teenage daughter, whom usually likes the teen club, chose not to participate on this cruise. It is apparent the crew is overworked. We were told they work 13 hour days for nine months without a day off. Our steward was responsible for around 20 cabins and it showed. Although hard working and friendly, you could tell the staff was stressed. Also, be prepared for lots of Italians and a lack of personal space and no regard for queues. Of course, this happens with other nationalities as well. Also, the announcements must have been in at least three languages which got tedious after a while. We did not attend any of the entertainment options but other passengers had good reviews for the nightly entertainment. All in all, we had a good cruise thanks to the port calls. Costa Luminosa has the potential to be a great cruise ship. Unfortunately, the quality of the food and overworked staff prevent the experience from rising to the next level. I would recommend the ship to those who are excited about visiting European ports and the timing works or the Luminosa price is significantly less than the competitors. Otherwise, it would be wise to consider other cruise ships. Read Less

I took my 18 year old granddaughter on the cruise for a graduation present. I usually go on the Princess Line (although I had been on two other Costa cruise many years ago) but this cruise fit our timing and most of the ports we wanted to visit. I cannot say enough about how bad the food and service (in the restaurants) was: * The buffet lines are very long (we stood in line for 30 minutes several times) and you have to stand in different lines for different items (same for beverages - they do not take your drink order). *In the sit down restaurant for dinner, the service was really bad. One night my granddaughter received her entrée when others received their salad. One man at our table received his entrée when others received their dessert. *In the sit down restaurant for breakfast they do offer a limited menu that you can order from and they also have a small buffet set up. It is impossible to get a waiter to take your breakfast order so we ended up going to the buffet in the restaurant (at least we were seated and didn't have to hunt for a seat like you have to do in the buffet restaurant). *Coffee and tea isn't served/offered after breakfast. You need to go to a bar area and pay after breakfast. * They charge for pizza (not available until 7 pm), ice cream and hamburgers. They do offer a hamburger at the grill by the pool but it isn't very good, and the grill is not always open (our at sea day the grill was closed). The grill is the only place to get French fries. * You have to pay for room service (other than coffee/tea, cereal, muffins). Plus you need to have a premium room in order to get room service. * The sit down restaurant is only open for lunch for 1 1/2 hours. If you go on an excursion it's not an option. * All cruise lines have specialty restaurants, but Costa also has a section on their dinner menu that have items that you need to pay for. * Other cruise lines have one side of the dinner menu that you can order these items at any time (on Princess, you can get shrimp cocktail at any dinner). The choices on Costa were a couple pasta dishes (and they were not good). Shrimp was never offered except for one night and the entrée was pasta with shrimp (there was ONE, tiny shrimp on the pasta). * The only time a steak was offered was on formal night - then we received a well done piece of meat wrapped in puff pastry. * If you're traveling with children or teens (or a picky eater) there is basically nothing for them to eat during the day (have to wait for the pizza and hamburger sections to open at 7 pm). We ate off the ship as often as we could. Read Less

We really enjoyed our costa cruise out of Barcelona 2 years prior to this one but this was a big disappointment. It started with the company charging us $100.00 just to put our friends names on the tickets that we bought, the travel company put our names on both cabins but no information was even entered. Anyway, they charged for everything right down to ping pong balls to play a game. We bought the drink package, but it took forever to get a drink, bartenders played games with the guests, ignoring them while cleaning up the bar, I guess they were looking for more tips. The staff was friendly but there wasn't much motivation to work since they already had their tips paid. Food was good and our waiter was excellent in the evening for dinner but the breakfast and lunch was miserable! It took forever to be served and the choices were very limited. We have been on many cruises and we enjoy it a lot but never again on Costa. We aren't that picky or demanding but this was very disappointing from previous cruises. There wasn't much in the way of entertainment, no trivia, or sports events. The room was kept at 75 degrees, so at night it was too warm so we had to keep the door open. My husband keep asking for them to check on the air conditioning but they said that was the lowest it would go down to. We had a mini suite so it was a good size and we were able to board earlier then everyone else, thank goodness because the lines were SO long to board. They said 2 hours to get our luggage but it turned into 5. I had a tray of drinks spilt on me and nothing to change into for 4 hours, quite a sticky wet four hours to wait. It just seemed like a bus going around, dropping people off and picking them up at different stops, we had a good time but we won't go with Costa again. Read Less

This was our first cruise ever; we didn't knew what to expect, but it was all very good and it won't be the last cruise we make. More than enough space on the ship. You don't notice that there are more than 2.000 guests on board. Nice room (inside cabin 1248). Friendly personel, enough place on deck to find a nice/silent spot to sit in the sun. The food is good; for dinner you can choice for a luxury dinersetting on deck 2 or self-buffet on deck 9. When having dinner on deck 2 (restaurant Taurus), it takes sometimes a bit longer to finish dinner and therefore coming to late for the entertainment in the theater. Every evening we got the daily program for the next day in our cabin. We were with the two of us. You can see than Costa cruises are interesting for family's with children, because there were quit a lot of them. Not many older people. We didn't wnet with a shore excursions; we did it all bij ourselves. That's the nice thing with cruising, you are never very far away from the cities. Read Less

We choose for this cruise , because ; -The itineraries -The price of the cruise -All Inclusive (Diner and lots of beverages as wine, cognac,whiskey,beer, liquer,cocktails... -The total amount of days (just one week, not more) -The size of cabin and balcony -Entertainment We enjoyed the services of the crew, we liked the lay-out of the ship, - yes on this ship one can enjoy also more quiet areas. Deck four we loved quite well , if you like to walk quite a bit, this deck was well made for this This was not our first cruise and we enjoyed also other companies as; - Royal Crarribean (2x) - Norwegian Cruiseline - Celebrity (2x) - Holland America Line And yes ,they were all good ,so also Costa Luminosa was. And no; this ship was not too noisy One demand from us to Costa; Please make Venice or for exemple Triesta a port where you have more control on (communication with port authorities) Read Less

This is the first time I have been motivated to write a review, but we were so disappointed with Costa this time. We have cruised with them for several years, and have always been very happy. Everything started fine. Embarkation in Venice was more or less painless, the cabin was ready, and the food in the buffet dining room at lunch time absolutely fine. It was only when the cruise really got started we began to notice how things had gone down even from 6 months ago. In the main dining room for dinner, there were clearly staff shortages, only one waiting at table, previously had been two. Our waiter, as did many others, looked exhausted, but still managed to be delightful always with a smile and a cheerful attitude. The menu choices have been reduced for every course, and the 'everyday' menu, that is the one that doesn't change day to day, pretty restricted. No steak or meat dish available, mostly consisting of pasta. We expect pasta, there is always a pasta course, but for there to be no alternative for those who don't especially like pasta is not really satisfactory. The food was good, but having experienced what costa had to offer in previous years, didn't feel that it was as good. Worst of all, and we could hardly believe this, given that Costa is an italian cruise line, there was no pizza or ice cream available anywhere on the menu included in the cost of the cruise, not even in the buffet dining room. Reason - they sell it. Outrageous; we have complained very strongly on the feedback form they send out at the end of the cruise. Don't mind the paid for restaurants, don't use them, but accept that everyone has them these days. But pizza and ice cream??!! In the bars, again lack of staff very noticeable. We waited for about half an hour for a waiter, then gave up and went to the bar to collect our own drinks. Which is fine, except that all drinks carry a 15% service charge, so you kind of expect service. Some of the staff behind the bar were very offhand, appeared to be quite demoralised, and some didn't even give any eye contact, let alone engage in conversation. They weren't rude exactly, just did what they had to do, took the card and served the drink and that is all. Once we managed to get a waiter, the ones we had anything to do with were lovely, chatty and friendly, but appeared very rushed. Breakfast in the main dining room was pretty chaotic, they have a weird system of cold buffet, but with some hot items, as well as the served menu items. Getting those hot items from the buffet, to co-ordinate with a hot item from the menu so as to make up a breakfast dish was challenging to say the least. Main dining room should be a served menu, if you want buffet dining then you would go in the buffet restaurant. The reason we didn't go up there was that it was extremely difficult to get a seat at busy times, and again was pretty chaotic. At least in the main dining room you do get a seat, even though service could be slow, and on one occasion we had to get the Maitre'd involved as the table we were led to was not set, and no amount of asking got us any cutlery or crockery. The ship was almost full, there were clearly not nearly enough staff. Everything else was pretty much what we have expected from Costa. Entertainment is difficult we recognise that, with there being so many different languages to contend with. The cruise dancers and singers are good, and the acrobat dancers who put on an individual show were excellent. Otherwise the only alternative was 'the Voice of the Seas', talent show, and the crew show. The crew show was the most enjoyable of them all and the theatre was packed. Sadly packed with some very rude people who don't get that pushing past people and knocking their drinks over isn't acceptable, especially when the show has started. But this is the passengers, not Costa. They no longer serve drinks in the theatre, which is a good thing, but you can take them in. Apart from a cruise in an area where Costa don't go, this is the only line we have used in the past few years. Sadly, we will be trying someone else next time. Read Less

This trip was an anniversary gift to my elderly parents. The trip was quite a disappointment. It felt as operator was trying to save on everything (service, entertainment, staffing, etc). It was all not that bad if not they lost my parents suitcase with a lot of valuables in it, as of November 4th the baggage was not returned to them even tho we made countless attempts to contact the operator in regards to this. My parents are cruise enthusiasts and been on more then 20 different cruises and never they were so disappointed in their trip, not to mention it was not cheap at all. Complete lack of customer service makes it even worse. My mother had all her glasses (and believe me those were not cheap glasses) in that suitecase and she really struggles without them, operator showed NO INTEREST in returning missing baggage or providing other means of compensation, feels like they only concerned about collecting the money. Will not use again or recommend to a friend! Read Less

'Costa Luminosa' is a classic cruise liner, 8 years old, with a more traditional form, compared to newer ships. Interiors appeared to me like some sort of 'Art Deco', with lots of colorful illumination and warm colors. There were always lots of free sun loungers on the spacious sun decks, and the ship did never appear crowded. Everybody on board was friendly, caring and attentive. After arriving at about 11:30am, it took me nearly 3 hours from the port gate through the entire embarkation process to my stateroom, long waiting times again and again, but I was repeatedly addressed in German language. The staff and crew was always doing a good job in talking to their guests in each their languages. The security drill took less than 30 minutes and was held in Italian and English languages; movies with other languages were available on the TV in the stateroom the entire cruise. I found some clocks going wrong on board, and generally, light wear and tear. Since I am a buffet type of passenger, and I generally try to avoid long sessions in the main dining rooms, I did not visit the main dining room. In the evenings, the 'Ristorante Andromeda' was open from 07:30pm to 09:00pm usually, a very limited time for a buffet restaurant, not so Italian like, and there were queues sometimes, since the buffets are arranged on long bars with a narrow alley, not allowing guests to jump. Plastic table ware was used, but the offered food was among the best things on the cruise, although two typical Italian foods like pizza and ice cream were not included in the cruise fare. Choice of food was very good with a big variety, not just pasta, but also different kinds of fish and meat, even the best possible Bratwurst, always very freshly prepared opposite to the buffets, and very delicious small desserts from the patisserie. The spoons and forks at the buffet had greasy handles sometimes, and food was partially the same for lunch and dinner or dessert and 'La Merenda' on some days. Not so bad, since it tasted always very good. I had the 'Pranzo & Cena' beverage package, since only different beverages for breakfast and tea time were included in the cruise fare. Usually, only one side of the restaurant with each 2 different buffets was used in the evenings, thus there was always more free seating on the other side of the restaurant. At rush times, the restaurant was full, and it was hard for me to find free seating. 'Costa Crociere' offers some very few beverage 'Vending Machines' in the 'Ristorante Andromeda'. The guest can insert the 'Carta Costa' and choose between 6 different refreshment drinks. The given price on the monitor will then either be added to the board account, or was already paid with a beverage package. I tasted cool water instead of the expected lemonade, and was also astonished about the amount that came out of the machine, it filled the plastic cup only half, an estimated of 150ml. The guest can also get beverages at the end of every buffet line in the 'Ristorante Andromeda' at lunch and dinner, manually served by always very friendly staff, a full plastic cup with 250ml to 300ml out of cans or bottles. The 'Carta Costa' must be shown or handed over to the staff for paying therefore, any purchased beverage package is noted with its code on the card. Tap water is free, available from dispensers in the 'Ristorante Andromeda'. The 'Samsara Spa' crew was always very busy with promoting their offers, paper ads were delivered to the stateroom and handed out to guests near the gangway when returning from excursions. Hand disinfection was available at every buffet, but was not taken very seriously by most guests on this cruise. The entertainment program offered something for everyone, every day, with live music sometimes. Entertainment was as multilingual as the entire cruise, a charming Babylonian language jumble. I had purchased the Internet M package with a bandwidth for the entire cruise, and the internet speed was good on board. Excursions; I only booked a transfer from Katakolon to Olympia, the fare was ok, the bus on time, the journey times shorter than announced, but the stay of only 2 hours was too short for an interested visitor like me. Generally, short stays of the ship in the harbors with only one single full day stay at Mykonos. As on most ships, orientation support lacked on 'Costa Luminosa' as well. No port and starboard signs, and no stateroom direction signs in the staircase halls. I learnt after dinner on the last evening of the cruise about the departure procedure for the next morning, about only 3 hours before I had to put my baggage in front of the stateroom door at midnight. Staff at the 'Hospitality Service Desk' was very friendly and gave me an earlier disembarkation slot, since my assigned time was way too late for catching my flight. Disembarkation then proceeded very quickly the next morning. On-board accounting was correct. Thank you 'Costa Crociere' for a wonderful cruise with so good food, charming multilingualism and your warm Italian hospitality on bella 'Costa Luminosa'! Read Less

Wow where do I start?? 7 family and friends first time cruisers. Flew into Venice and transferred to the amazing ship on the pre arranged bus..painless security and embarkation and a really friendly welcome to the ship from the great staff. Luggage handled by Costa and placed outside our cabins...obtained a costa card that would become our best friend for the next week...it goes everywhere with you..no getting on or off the ship without it or drinks from the bar. Having read numerous reviews was a little worried about the cabin size but no worries at all...premium balcony cabin had a queen size bed ,table and sofa,three single wardrobes with hangers (but did take some of my own hangers) set of storage shelves with the safe in and cupboards under a surface with a mirror above and hairdryer...a full length mirror was on the inside of the wardrobe door. Plenty of shelves in the bathroom and great power in the shower and plenty of hot water..dispenser of shower gel in the shower. The cabins were cleaned daily... you had a choice of morning or afternoon cleaning..lovely hard working professional Frankie looked after us well. There were 2chairs and a table on the balcony ideal for a quiet afternoon with a book and watch the scene changing in front of you The food...oh the food! Again after mixed reviews was a little worried but again no need to be! Hot and cold choices for breakfast...seated in the restaurant or at the buffet all hot if needed to be or cold if needed to be...lunch...3 courses seated in the restaurant or tremendous choice in the buffet meat fish and vegetarian and accompaniments at each sitting....afternoon tea...focaccia sandwiches or filled cobs always along with cake and fresh fruit..and of course tea or coffee dinner was an amazing 4 course affair seated at our own table each night...with differing dress codes which you found out on the daily diary sent to your room We had purchased a drinks package with meals and were very glad we did...I would purchase an all drinks next time...the only minus point was the seating at lunch if you wanted the buffet it was a scramble to get a seat. The entertainment was great..shows each night and days were packed with things to do if you wanted.Being an Italian ship and many different nationalities made listening to all the introductions in all the languages a bit monotonous We went on 3 costa excursions which were well organised and for first timers we felt safe. The tuk tuks in Dubrovnik were amazing with very informative guides...there were chances to do your own thing too Looking already at booking the next one...if you're looking to book...do! Read Less

I booked this cruise because of the itinerary and the very good price. We have been on several other cruises in the Carnival brand i.e Cunard X1 Princess X4 and Carnival X1 plus also NCL X2 and Royal Caribbean X1 . I was expecting some compromises due to the very keen price... what I wasn't expecting was the constant penny pinching for example no tap water or coffee with meals outside of the breakfast time without additional charge.It is also the most aggressive sale of Drinks packages I have ever seen 30 euros per day plus...you have to drink a lot to make that worthwhile and many people were. The ship itself was very clean and high standard certainly having the Italian sparkle. I knew about the compromises on the multi language being mainly European clientele my wife and I were okay with that. The menu is European focused and we really liked the menu in the formal dining room (I like pasta and Italian and sea food) however the buffet was very limited choice compared to other ships and much more restrictive hours presumably to keep costs down... it was even additional charge for pizza!. Entertainment by the formal ships company was good but several of the nights were just Karaoke by the ships entertainment crew in Butlins red coat style not really cruising standard by any stretch. Trieste Easy walk and okay for 4 hours not fantastic but ok. Corfu 2.5 Km into town not really enough time allowed here... we arrived late and due to weather only 3 hrs so did not see much beyond the immediate town. Katakolon good trip to Olympia for 15 euros with Costa...and enough time to see. Mykanos landing by tender but nice place and decent time allowed. Dubrovnik...this was missed out and went to Kotor in Montenegro instead which was lovely. In summary great potential but I do not think we will be cruising Costa again.... an inclusive drinks package would remove some of the grumbles on penny pinching. Read Less